This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: capitalist, conspiracy

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Reviewer: somewhere6 - - July 24, 2012
Subject: well researched and documented
It seems that some people find it necessary to ridicule this documentary. Those that do so should honestly try to refute the research that it presents. It is one thing to make a statement, it is another to back it up with evidence. This documentary backs up what it says and its sources are genuine. Those who criticize it should likewise back up their case with evidence or at least check out the paper trail that is presented.

Reviewer: Furrows - - January 9, 2012
Subject: 42 yr old conspiracy theory
Silly right wing/cold war conspiracy crap from the late 60's. Conspiracy theories should come with an expiration date.

Reviewer: allanmr - - January 9, 2012
Subject: It does matter what political party
It does matter what political party is more at fault,because the political and religious right,mainly made up of conservatives,do what they do in the name of God and so have more influence-and don't necessarily follow through on their religious beliefs.Politicians get elected in part because they claim to be God fearing,God believing men.And it would be very difficult for an atheist to get elected President.

Reviewer: Igor_A - - January 9, 2012
Subject: John Birch Society nonsense
This movie is a load of John Birch Society horse pucky. If you can track down a copy of Revilo Oliver's "America's Decline: The Education of a Conservative", there's a good expose of the Birch Society in there. (Oliver was one of its founding members.)

Reviewer: Dark Moon - - May 15, 2011
Subject: International banking

The producer of this video, G. Edward Griffin, argues that public policy in the democratic free-market nations (particularly the US and those of Western Europe) is not formed by the people, nor by their elected representatives in government, nor even by huge corporations—but ultimately, by international banking cartels, by means of manipulating national money (and credit) supplies through central banks such as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

Kudos to Griffin for laying his cards on the table. He names names and cites the sources from which he quotes, so that interested viewers can follow up with their own research and make up their own minds.

Kudos also for at least suggesting some possible solutions. Many videos of this nature stop at presenting the problem, and leave the ordinary citizen with no idea what might be done to remedy it. Except for advocating a return to the gold standard, the suggestions are not very radical: They advocate increased citizen awareness and involvement, and a more decentralized government.

And finally, kudos for pointing out that the international bankers belong to several old families, of several ethnicities, from several different nations—instead of just pointing at the Rothschilds (who happen to be Jewish).

Like many videos of its type, this is presented in a (bone) dry and didactic (lecture hall) style that makes the material more difficult to absorb than it needs to be. Fortunately, Griffin seemed to have realized that, and kept the running time to under an hour (it reads 47 minutes on my player) so as not to flood and overwhelm the viewer with too much detail. Unfortunately, he is discussing a complex topic and attempts to cover a lot of ground in 47 minutes, with the result that he leave out a great deal. The most glaring example is where he repeatedly asserts that banks "create money out of nothing," but never explains what he means by that (nor how it works), which is sure to leave some viewers hearing this material for the first time saying "Wha...??" (Known as the "fractional reserve system," it is explained in these videos: Money as Debt, Money as Debt II, and The Money Masters.)

His use of the word "conspiracy" is unfortunate; he might've got a clue by noticing how much time and energy he was spending to defend it. Despite all his arguments, "conspiracy" is vulnerable to being dismissed as paranoia, especially after it gets lumped in with really far-out conspiracy theories such as those mentioned in another review.

"Conspiracy" also gives the wrong idea, because police agencies usually break conspiracies by arresting the conspirators. In a situation like this, it makes no difference how many people get arrested—more will show up to take their place, and will keep showing up until the incentive is taken out of it. It's not the people who are the problem, it's having this opportunity laying around that certain kinds of people just can't resist.

Finally, "conspiracy" suggests (if it doesn't outright imply) a unified monolithic cabal, a single group of people who are running everything. This video (and books and other videos on the same topic) present evidence that this is not so—it's more complex than that, and consequently harder to track. In fact, there are many fully or semi-independent people and groups of people involved. Sometimes they work together cooperatively, and sometimes they compete ruthlessly. What unites them and identifies them as a class is that they have similar aims, employ similar strategies and tactics to achieve them, and often share similar values and codes of conduct (such as a code of silence). The five families of the US Mafia (La Cosa Nostra), identified in this video as another example of a conspiracy, follow this same exact pattern—sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they fight, but they follow the same means to the same ends. Big business follows this pattern, too; by the logic presented in this video, that might also be regarded as a conspiracy, because the biggest value of big business is to create a totally unregulated (laissez-faire) free market.

Griffin also argues, in defiance of his own logic and evidence, that the ultimate aim of the international bankers is to create a totalitarian world government. I think there are fewer adherents to this view than there were during the Cold War era when he made the video. I think that today it is more obvious to more people that big business in general (that includes high finance) is content to continue running things from behind the scenes, allowing politicians and political parties on all sides to take most of the heat for what is going on. The point made in the video that it doesn't matter any more which party is in power is more true today than ever before. Adam Curtis (also available here on IA) makes both of those points in many of his documentaries.

It also adds confusion when Griffin identifies his theoretical totalitarian world government as "socialist." Today, political theorists use the phrase "state socialism" to distinguish the self-styled "socialism" (AKA fascism) of Stalin and Hitler from more decentralized, egalitarian forms that are lacking in hierarchical power structures.

Many of the points made in this video are also made (and well supported) in books and other videos. Unsurprisingly, though, not everyone agrees on everything. There are quite a few people who, like Griffin, advocate that we return to currency backed by precious metals rather than what we have today: government fiat. In the videos mentioned and linked above, the point is made that money changers have profited from hording and controlling the money supply in whatever form it took (including gold coins), at least as early as the Roman empire.

If what this video presents interests you, you might have a look at those two videos, as well. I don't know what any of us can actually do about any of it, but at least we can know who actually has their hands in our pockets.

Reviewer: hudgeliberal - - January 18, 2010
Subject: The far left? Cmon direwolfman
I think you mean the right. Although I think many conspiracy theories are just that...theories only. However,9-11,the assasinations of the left wing leaders such as JFK,RFK,Lennon,Marley(yes he was killed),MLK,X etc. all have facts that,to some degree,support them. However I do think the conspiracy theories have gotten out of hand lately..chemtrails,aliens disquised as humans,HAARP etc all are hogwash in my opinion. However,I think the comment by direwolfman that the left is moving us closer..couldnt be further from the truth. The Bush administration had us on the doorstep of a dictatorship. We lost more civil liberties during his 8 years(and his father and Ronnie boy)than the previous 200 years combined. Illegal wars built upon lies,false flag operations and virtually destroyed our economy by catering to the wealthy and the major corporations. No,my friend,the right wing shares 99.999 percent of the blame for this current mess that Obama is trying to straighten out.

Reviewer: Direwolfman - - December 19, 2009
Subject: wow
My brother has always talked about this consiracry theory -now I'm starting to beleive him. The far left is moving us closer. Beware and get the word out!

Reviewer: GleanerJoe - - December 7, 2008
Subject: No rest for the wicked
everyone should watch this. it was made 39 years ago, but still applies: THEY are still at it, and are nearer their goal then ever: total control of everybody and everything, through money manipulation. This is the ultimate power goal which they toil for without ceasing, never resting, always greedy for more power.